Julian Edelman has not signed a contract with the Lions. Despite what you may have heard.
On April 1, Bill Simmons went on Colin Cowherd’s show, and both Simmons and Cowherd talked about an Edelman-to-Detroit “report” that was actually an April Fools’ Day prank.
“Even Edelman, it seems like he might be heading to Detroit. Is that official?” Simmons said.
“Yes,” Cowherd said. “It’s talked about.”
But there’s been no such deal. As explained by Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, a Patriots fan Twitter account had posted an April Fools’ Day tweet saying, “BREAKING. WR Julian Edelman has been signed by the Detroit Lions on a 2-year deal. Thanks for everything Jules.”
Although Lions General Manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia both worked for Bill Belichick in New England and have prioritized bringing in former Patriots, it should have been obvious the tweet was a prank, seeing as Edelman is not a free agent and therefore could only be traded, not signed by the Lions.
On Friday, Simmons acknowledged he’d been had.
“Right before I went on The Herd on Wednesday, I saw a tweet that Edelman was heading to Detroit and did NOT realize it was an April Fool’s tweet,” Simmons tweeted.
This isn’t a year when many people were in the mood for April Fools’ Day, but this was one prank that got some traction.